What it is
Diazolidinyl Urea is a white powder.
What it does
Diazolidinyl Urea is a preservative that prevents bacterial growth. It works by releasing small amounts of formaldehyde, a toxic and carcinogenic substance used to embalm dead bodies.
Side effects
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel considers Diazolidinyl Urea safe to be used in cosmetics up to a maximum concentration of 0.5%. In Europe, when the concentration of formaldehyde in the finished product exceeds 0.05%, the labels has to state “contains formaldehyde”.
Diazolidinyl Urea can cause irritations and allergies.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, this sounds dangerous and terrifying. I’ll keep an eye if it’s in the products I use now.
Hi Jasmine, I didn’t mean to cause a scare. Formaldehyde is really nasty stuff and although the FDA says it isn’t dangerous in very small quantities I stay away from it. I don’t think it’s gonna kill since the concentrations are low, but still who would want toxic stuff in their bodies in the first place? I’d rather have no formaldehyde at all instead of small amounts in the first place, esp when there are other preservatives who work just as well but don’t release any toxic stuff.
I like your ‘know your ingredients’ series of posts. Very informative!
Vonvon´s last blog ..Estee Lauder Sale And My Hauls
Thank you Vonvon, I’m glad you’re enjoying these posts!
Is diazolidinyl urea derived from animal urine or is it entirely synthetic?
Hi Barbara, diazolidinyl urea can be derived both from animal or synthetic sources. However in cosmetics products diazolidinyl urea is made by the reaction of allantoin (a substance derived from the extracts of the comfrey plant) and formaldehyde.
Thanks for fast reply. I work in retail and a gentleman customer refused to buy a hand softener because of this ingredient thinking it a derivative of urine. He piqued my interest. the websites I checked were not clear on the source either.
You’re welcome Barbara. There is a lot of confusion on this topic because some ingredients, like Urea, are components of urine. But in cosmetics, synthetic versions are used. You can tell your clients not too worry, they won’t be putting urine on their faces.
thanks barbara for bringing up this matter as i’m having the same confusion too
Feyda Fauzan, I’m glad this helped clearing up any doubts. Thanks to Barbara too .
thanks barbara and othes to discuss this issuue .becoz for some this topic matters a lot.
Kanwal, I agree this is an important topic and I’m glad you enjoyed the discussion.
thanks for quick reply but i have many questions (related to this issue)about many ingredients that are used in cosmetics.how i can ask from you.
Kanwal, you can either comment on my blog or send me an email and I will get back to you as soon as I can. You can find my email in the contact page (link at the top of the page).
o` thank u.u are so sweet .may Allah bless u.
Kanwal, you’re welcome.
Kanwal…best to start with one cosmetic at a time. Say is lipstick still made from bear fat?
dear barbara you are right but one lipstick has many ingredients.and for me it matters a lot that either ther are from plant source or not.believe i `m so confused these das that wahat i`m using??????
Kanwal, there is so much contradicting and misleading information about cosmetic ingredients on the internet that it’s impossible not to get confused! But contrary to popular belief, chemicals aren’t toxic and plant derived ingredients always good. There good chemical ingredients and bad chemical ingredients, like there are good natural ingredients and bad natural ingredients.
An useful website to check out is http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/. It’s one of my favourite sources as it is a collection of scientific studies and their conclusions. All of the information on there is based on science not on pseudo science aiming to scare people. Some studies can be a bit hard to understand if one is not a scientific person though so if you need help, let me know.
And having said that, if one prefers to use natural and organic ingredients, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
once again thanks.i `ll surely visit this web site.
Barbara, as far as I know it’s not. And if you all have any questions, I’m always glad to help if I can.